Duct tape to act as string to pull gears, so as to increase friction and prevent the string from tangling

We quickly realise that the speed and distance achieved by Prototype 1 was not up to expectations. We made some edits to our car.

Thus resulting in our next prototype, Prototype 2.Prototype 2

Mass of mousetrap car

230 g

Mass of each wheel

45 g

Wheel diameter

8.5 cm

Axel diameter

0.5 cm

Length of string (from end of lever to axel)

29 cm

Length of lever extension

15 cm

Overall length

29 cm

Overall width

15 cm

Overall height

8.5 cm

Prototype 2 includes

A re-build of the entire car, using LegoⓇ parts

Changed gears to direct drive

Changed transmission of power to string instead of duct tape

Extended the lever

Prototype 2 uses a direct string drive and goes 5 meters in 5 seconds on flat tiled floor. We also extended the lever to ensure that the car can move a further distance. However, this is not fast enough to get the maximum marks for distance.

Prototype 3

Mass of mousetrap car

250 g

Mass of each wheel

45 g

Wheel diameter

8.5 cm

Axel diameter

0.5 cm

Length of string (from end of lever to axel)

29 cm

Length of lever extension

15 cm

Overall length

29 cm

Overall width

15 cm

Overall height

8.5 cm

Prototype 3 includes

Changed gear ratio from to 2:1

The car now displays maximum mousetrap to wheel efficiency, achieving 10 meters in 5 seconds on regular tiled floor. This could be expected as we doubled the gear ratio, thus the speed also doubled. We requested for a newer mousetrap in hope that the higher tension in the spring of a newer mousetrap could result in higher speeds (which it did).